Decoding a q-ary low density party check (LDPC) codes includes check node processing, which is a bottle-neck in LDPC decoder operation. Check node processing includes setting up a trellis to search for the most likely combinations of the q-ary levels for all symbols involved in a check. It would be desirable to develop new techniques for performing check node processing, at least some embodiments of which reduce or mitigate complexity and/or memory space requirements.